HungryGoWhere resumes operations after Grab buys, relaunches F&B site

SINGAPORE: Almost a year after ceasing operations, food and beverage portal HungryGoWhere is back.

HungryGoWhere, which went offline in July last year after operating for 15 years, has been bought and relaunched by Grab Singapore.

The new HungryGoWhere - which will retain its name and iconic red hue - will focus on reviews and recommendations, and highlighting up-and-coming personalities and origins of popular foods, said Grab in a media release on Wednesday (Jun 15).

The site aims to be the "go-to source" for diners seeking F&B news in Singapore and a platform for businesses to increase their visibility, Grab added.

“HungryGoWhere is a brand that many Singaporeans have grown to love since its inception more than a decade ago and many were sad to see it go," said Mr Cifer Ong, managing director of strategy and partnerships at Grab Singapore.

"We feel privileged and excited to be bringing back its longstanding legacy, while aiming to take it to the next level with this rebrand."

The new HungryGoWhere will tap on Grab’s superapp data, such as popular food trends and frequently visited places in Singapore. This will be used by HungryGoWhere "to inform its curation of content", said Grab.

Relevant HungryGoWhere stories will also be shared on the Grab app and on Grab’s marketing channels.

HungryGoWhere will, however, remain a separate platform from the Grab app at launch, a Grab spokesperson said in response to a CNA query. 

The acquisition and relaunch include HungryGoWhere's social media channels.

The new HungryGoWhere has an editorial team "with wide-ranging experience in F&B, lifestyle and news content", added the spokesperson. 

The team is helmed by editor Kenneth Cheng, who was previously a news editor at TODAY.

THE OLD HUNGRYGOWHERE

Founded in 2006 by Mr Wong Hoong An, Mr Dennis Goh and Mr Tan Yung Yih, HungryGoWhere gained popularity as a food review site, and grew to offer restaurant reservations, dining deals, dining rewards, and articles on food and drinks in Singapore.

HungryGoWhere’s parent company GTW Holdings was acquired for S$12 million by Singtel in May 2012 with the telco aiming “to re-shape culinary experiences across Asia”.

In the month of its acquisition, HungryGoWhere had 4.1 million page views, and this had doubled to 8.2 million page views by May 2014, according to a TODAY report in October 2014.

HungryGoWhere’s operations were merged with Singtel’s lifestyle and search site inSing.com, “creating an audience of 2 million customers - the largest food and lifestyle audience in Singapore”, the telco said at the time.

HungryGoWhere ceased operations on Jul 11, 2021, because of "severe challenges" faced in the industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the telco said at the time.

inSing.com ceased operations in 2019, with its last post on Facebook dated Aug 26 that year. Grab said that it will not be reviving the portal.

Grab bought the HungryGoWhere brand, which includes HungryGoWhere.com and its social media channels, in 2021, the company's spokesperson told CNA.

When asked if content previously found on HungryGoWhere will be carried on the relaunched site, the spokesperson said that the dining scene in Singapore has changed much in the past year.

"As such, we will be archiving some old content on the relaunched site that remains relevant and that we think readers will still find interesting, while introducing new content such as the interview series, 20 Questions With as well as From Scratch, a series exploring the origins of popular foods and the stories behind them," added the spokesperson. 

The spokesperson said that there are currently no plans to bring back reservation and booking services to HungryGoWhere. User-generated reviews will not be brought back either.